As wireless networks evolve and grow, there are ongoing challenges in providing high-quality service to increasing numbers of wireless devices or user equipment (UE) in various coverage areas of a wireless network. For example, beamforming is a transmission mode that is used to provide better coverage to wireless devices in specific locations within a coverage area of a cell or access node. A beamforming downlink transmission mode uses multiple antennae to direct or “steer” signals from the antennae towards a particular wireless device located at, for instance, a cell edge. However, when wireless devices are at certain positions in the coverage area, formed beams directed to those wireless devices can interfere with other wireless devices within the coverage area, thereby degrading performance for the other wireless devices. For example, when wireless devices are in certain positions relative to one another, a side lobe of a formed beam directed towards a first wireless device may overlap with, or intersect, a wireless transmission between another wireless device and an access node. Although the first wireless device remains unaffected, the intersecting signals may cause interfere for the second wireless device, particularly when both transmissions utilize the same frequencies. Further, orthogonal frequency-division multiple access based systems, such as LTE, are especially prone to such interference between wireless devices in adjacent sectors, as they are commonly deployed with a frequency reuse factor of 1.
Overview
Exemplary embodiments described herein include systems, methods, and processing nodes for minimizing interference caused by formed beams to other wireless devices in a wireless network. An exemplary method for minimizing interference includes determining that a first angle of a first formed beam directed towards a first wireless device meets a first threshold angle. An interference is caused to a second wireless device by a lobe of the first formed beam upon the first angle meeting the first threshold angle. The method switches an operating mode of the second wireless device from a default mode to an aggregated mode. In the aggregated mode, additional resources are scheduled for the second wireless device based in part on the interference.
An exemplary system for minimizing interference in a wireless network includes a processing node and a processor coupled to the processing node. The processor configures the processing node to perform operations including obtaining one or more interference measurements for each of a plurality of transmission angles of a first formed beam directed towards a first wireless device. The one or more interference measurements for each transmission angle are associated with a fixed location. The operations further include determining a first threshold angle based on the one or more interference measurements for each transmission angle. Upon the transmission angle of the formed beam meeting the first threshold angle, an operating mode of a second wireless device at the fixed location is switched to from a default mode to a carrier aggregation mode. The operations further include determining a second threshold angle based on the one or more interference measurements for each transmission angle. Upon the transmission angle of the formed beam meeting the second threshold angle, the operating mode of the second wireless device at the fixed location is switched back to the default mode.
An exemplary processing node for minimizing interference in a wireless network is configured to perform operations including determining an interference caused by a first formed beam directed towards a first wireless device caused to a second wireless device, and switching an operating mode of the second wireless device to an aggregated mode based on the interference. The aggregated mode aggregates two different carriers.